Download Mesopotamia – The Sumerians

• The name Mesopotamia means ____________________________________
• Mesopotamia lies within the
_________________________________
– an area of rich, fertile farmland in
Southwest Asia where the first
civilizations began
• It is bordered to the north by the
___________River, and to the South by the
____________________River.
• These were the rivers of ________ and _________
• Flood waters brought beneficial ___________________ from the
mountains in spring
• The same floods were unpredictable and swept away people and animals
• Floods on these rivers left behind Silt:
________________________________
________________________________
• This ________ made the land of
Mesopotamia extremely
_________________ for growing crops
• When you have excellent conditions
for growing crops (warm climate, good
soil, access to plenty of water)
what is possible.....?
_______________________________
• Surplus made it possible for the growth of _____________
• The ________________ established the world’s first permanent
_____________________________ right here in Mesopotamia
• Their first cities had about
10,000 people but as time passed
some grew as large as _________
• These____________________
acted as individual countries even
though they were cities
• What kept city-states from
uniting under one government
or ruler? __________________
• Unfortunately, not all of the Sumerian city-states were BFFs
• City-states would continually
fight over who had controlled the
___________________ and the
rights to ___________ on the river
• By 3500 BC, __________ was the
most powerful of the city-states
• Uruk and Ur fought for
dominance as well
• Uruk’s king ___________________________ became a legendary
figure in Sumerian Literature
• In Sumer_____________________ was a central part of life in the city-states.
• Sumerians practiced Polytheism:
________________________________________________________________
• Ziggurats:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
• The Ziggurats were terraced with
__________ that lead to the top where
a ___________was located.
SUMERIAN ACHIEVEMENTS
• Writing – Evolved from a series of pictures/symbols called ________________,
to Cuneiform: ___________________________________________
• Math – Developed a system
that used _____ as a base.
• This led to the understanding of
12 ____________ in a year;
60 _______________in a minute;
and 60 ___________in an hour.
• Technology
• Wheel: ______________________________________________________
• Plow: _______________________________________________________
• Sewers
• Bronze for tools
• Makeup and jewelry
• Constant ______________ between City-States in Sumeria weakened them
• They manly fought over the rights to ___________, _________, and money
• Because they were weak, the _______________________ were able to
conquer them by the year 1759 BC.
• Empire:
_________________________________
_________________________________
•The center of the Babylonian empire
was the beautiful city of ____________
• Its central location made it a center for trade for:
Caravans: _______________________________________________________
Bazaars: ________________________________________________________
• ____________________became King and created the Babylonian
Empire by uniting the cities of ______________ and conquering parts of
________________________
• As one of the most influential leaders in Mesopotamia he conquered
territory and developed a set of laws to govern it =
_____________________________________
• There were _______ laws; its creation allowed ______, __________,
_________, and all others to read and understand the laws that
governed their lives in Babylon
Examples:
• Code 21: If a man has broken into a house he shall be killed before the
breach and buried there
• Code 196: If a man has knocked out the eye of a patrician, his eye shall be
knocked out.
• The Babylonian Empire was eventually conquered by the Persians, paving
the way for the rise of....
ADVANCES
• The ________________________ _____,
____________, slingers, _____________,
and ____________
• _____________ ___________ were their major
DOWNFALL
• Very______________________, so had few
________________
• Many small _________________ from within
weakened them
advantage over foes
• The city of ______________ became a city of great
learning and housed tablets from _____________
and _________________
• Ultimately conquered by the
____________________ by 612 BC
• Chaldeans reestablished _____________________ (New Babylonian Empire)
• _______________________________________ rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city and built the
Hanging Gardens for his wife
ADVANCES
• Accurate __________ calendars
• Raised ________ for honey
DOWNFALL
• Poor _____________________ weakened
them, and they eventually fell to Persia
• Sundials
• The land on the western fringe of the Fertile Crescent was home to wealthy ______________
society known as the ______________________
• Phoenicia had few _________________, but it did
have ______________. Cedar trees were prized
for their _______________, a valuable trade item
• Phoenicia’s overland trade routes were blocked
by __________________and
___________________________ so they had to
look to the _________ for a way to trade
• Motivated by a desire for trade, the people of Phoenicia became expert
___________________________ - They built one of the world’s finest ________________ at the city of
_________
• Fleets of fast Phoenician trading ships sailed to ports all around the
__________________________________
• The Phoenicians founded several new colonies - ____________________ was the most famous of these,
and later became one of the most _________________ cities on the Mediterranean
• Phoenicia grew wealthy from trading: ___________, silverwork, ______________________, glass items,
_____________, and items dyed purple
•To record their activities, Phoenician traders developed
one of the world’s first Alphabet :
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
• This development made ______________ much
easier and had a major impact on the
______________ and ______________ world
• Our alphabet is based on the Phoenicians!
ADVANCES
• Created valuable good from glass, iron, and cedar
DOWNFALL
• Attacks by King _______________ weakened
the Phoenicians
• World’s finest ______ builders
• Founded the city of ______________
• The ______________
• Eventually conquered when ___________ the
_______ swept through the Fertile Crescent in
332 BC
1. Sumerians
2. Akkadians (King Sargon)
3. Babylonians (King Hammurabi)
4. Assyrians
5. Chaldeans (King Nebuchadnezzar)
6. Phoenicians
• While Sumer was thriving another society developed along
the Tigris and Euphrates. This society was built by the
________________________. They lived just north of Sumer,
but they were not Sumerians.
• In spite of their differences, the Akkadians and the Sumerians
lived in peace for many years.
•That peace was broken in the 2300s BC when ______________
sought to extend Akkadian territory.
• Sargon was the first ruler to have a permanent ___________.
He used that army to launch a series of __________ against
neighboring kingdoms.
• Sargon’s soldiers defeated all the ______________________ of
___________. They also conquered northern Mesopotamia, finally
bringing the entire region under his rule. With these conquests,
Sargon established ____________________________________!
• Sargon was emperor for more than 50 years. However, the empire lasted only a
______________ after his death. Later rulers could not keep the empire _________and Ur
led the return of the ____________________________ to control of Mesopotamia.